ESPN World Fame 100 list

[TallyT]

Back to our our own frozen playing ground though (and I admit, I'm looking at this from a nonexpert's POV so be kind)...

In a way Yuzuru is pure lightning in a bottle.

He's not only possible/probable G O A T, he's also got everything that makes for fame these days - the looks and star factor (the camera LOVES him), the intelligence, the unearthly brilliance, the unique style, the quirky, adorable and slightly mysterious personality, the made-to-be-memed relationships with others including his biggest rivals, the genuine, tragic backstory and history of having to fight, the 2018 Olympics fairy story with its almost cliche happy ending... pretty much everything except the personal social media footprint (and given he doesn't use it himself, and those close to him now seem to deliberately cool it with his image, his social media footprint is still fairly impressive).

I really doubt that any other skater - not Nathan or Adam, not Virtue and Moir, not even even Evgenia, though if she had had her own fairytale in Pyeongchang or does really REALLY well in Canada she may come closer than others - can do it. Javier has the looks, the Shibs the social media thing, Shoma the quirkiness, Nathan the quads and the Americanness, Patrick the record, Virtue and Moir the sex appeal...

It's just serendipity that the skater most designed for fame is the one who most deserves it for his on-ice achievements.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Thank you. Ahh some favor they did Yuzuru Hanyu ... they actually looked at the data. Imagine that.

Anyway, it is actually very good to see the spikes around Olympics, and even then see just how much higher Yuzuru was. When we stay at skaters only

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/05b51vc,/m/02wc4tf,/m/0bbz0vm

it's curious to see that both Nathan and Rippon had only a third of Yuzuru's, with Rippon ahead by a bit. In 18 out of 20 regions Hanyu is ahead of the two, and while in Canada it is close, it is only the USA where the trend is radically different. NA is, surprisingly, not the representation of the entire world and it shows when low search areas are included too.
DWTS has naturally, done nothing for Rippon in terms of WW influence because the world could not care less. It's hopefully done something for him in the USA itself, his primary target in any case.

Uh, done nothing? You just posted a link where if you toggle the timeline of search activity to the past few months/weeks/days (e.g. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc,/m/02wc4tf), you see an obvious spike in Rippon's relevance in the past month, attributed to DWTS. Every time there's an episode of DWTS, Rippon's worldwide relevance spikes up, and spikes show a significant event leading to greater popularity in a search term (Google Trends 101). So what else would explain the weekly spikes in the past month for the term "adam rippon", worldwide, if not Dancing with the Stars?

Also, I don't see it as surprising that Nathan and Adam's search results were 1/3 of Hanyu's at the time of the Olympics -- people are interested in figure skating wayyyyy more in Japan on a global basis. For example, in the past 12 months, Japan's search interest in the term "figure skating" was 88 to USA's 33... in the past month (post Olympics/Worlds), that value has been Japan 60 to USA 13 (almost 5 times as much). https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/02_5h . So, it's hardly a surprise to see that Chen/Rippon were less searched at the time of the Olympics, or off the ESPN list.

If you look at the 7 day chart, you'll also see that Hanyu's "worldwide" relevance ebbs and flows pretty much in sync with when most people are awake and asleep in Japan. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc Obviously, all search terms will have a pattern, but it's actually rather astonishing how drastically up and down, but still so uniform/similarly patterned, the spikes are from day to day/hour to hour with Hanyu's search relevance. You would almost think that the same group of people search him, in full force, around the same time each day, on a practically religiously consistent basis. To quote British Eurosport, "Such is the dedication of the Japanese fans!"

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc, This shows how his search popularity compares in Japan vs. the rest of the world. Note the index in the Interest By Region: Japan is 100 on relevance (which is a baseline of most popular), and the next one is Hong Kong at just 17 (as in the term "Yuzuru Hanyu" is almost 6 times less popular compared to Japan). That's a pretty huge discrepancy from most popular region to 2nd most popular region, and any Google analyst will tell you that means Japan is doing quite a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of the search term's relevance. Taiwan is 3rd at 10, Singapore 4th at 6, South Korea 5th at 4 (i.e. he was 25x less popular in South Korea compared to Japan, in the past year). And primarily Asian countries rounding out the first half of the list; it's ironic you would quip that NA is not representative of the world (we know that it isn't), but then Hanyu's worldwide popularity comprises primarily Asian countries (which, of course, are not representative of the entire world either). On top of that, there are only 2 non-Asian countries in the top 10, Canada (8th) and Russia (9th), and with relevance indexes of just 2 at that (as in "Yuzuru Hanyu" has 50x less search popularity in Canada and Russia compared to Japan).

Rippon, on the other hand, in the past 12 months, has had a much greater diversity of search popularity: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/02wc4tf . The top 5 countries that search his name are USA, Canada, Singapore, Finland and Japan, and the discrepancy between the US and other countries is not as drastic versus the discrepancy between Japan and the rest for searching Hanyu. "Adam Rippon" has 33 regions represented (to Hanyu's 20) in the past year. Hanyu has for surebeen searched more, when you compare them head to head, but Rippon's popularity has been spread around the world comparatively moreso, and it's not all coming from one region as it's been with Hanyu.

Gotta love Google Trends.

 

[TallyT]

It's ironic that Adam Rippon may end up being (by the American general public, and probably vaguely) famous more as a dancer (due to DWTS) than as a skater...

 

[lichi]

yes, I don't think someone like Odell Beckham Jr. should be on the list at all (I guess that wasn't clear). I meant he was one of the top ranked American football players on the list, not that he deserves to be higher than #53 He hasn't had any really great athletic achievements lately (was injured), seems in the media more for his off the field antics.

Some of the 'fame' achieved by those on this list - like Maria Sharapova as well just to name an example - is not from athletic achievements.

This is off topic, but Sharapova is not known for her athletic achievements? Isn't that like saying Yuna Kim is not known for her athletic achievements? Although Sharapova may not be at her peak right now, she is still a legend in women's tennis. Although, I might have a slightly different perspective as a tennis player.

 

[oatmella]

This is off topic, but Sharapova is not known for her athletic achievements? Isn't that like saying Yuna Kim is not known for her athletic achievements? Although Sharapova may not be at her peak right now, she is still a legend in women's tennis. Although, I might have a slightly different perspective as a tennis player.

I meant to say she is likely not on this 'fame' list based on her current athletic ability/recent achievements - considering she is #21 on this world 'Fame' list and her current WTA ranking is #29.

ESPN mentions her return to professional tennis from a 15-month doping suspension, her memoir, and relief efforts to in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. 'Call this a brand-rebuilding year'

This is not to dismiss her previous athletic achievements.

 

[Mamamiia]

Uh, done nothing? You just posted a link where if you toggle the timeline of search activity to the past few months/weeks/days (e.g. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc,/m/02wc4tf), you see an obvious spike in Rippon's relevance in the past month, attributed to DWTS. Every time there's an episode of DWTS, Rippon's worldwide relevance spikes up, and spikes show a significant event leading to greater popularity in a search term (Google Trends 101). So what else would explain the weekly spikes in the past month for the term "adam rippon", worldwide, if not Dancing with the Stars?

Also, I don't see it as surprising that Nathan and Adam's search results were 1/3 of Hanyu's at the time of the Olympics -- people are interested in figure skating wayyyyy more in Japan on a global basis. For example, in the past 12 months, Japan's search interest in the term "figure skating" was 88 to USA's 33... in the past month (post Olympics/Worlds), that value has been Japan 60 to USA 13 (almost 5 times as much). https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/02_5h . So, it's hardly a surprise to see that Chen/Rippon were less searched at the time of the Olympics, or off the ESPN list.

If you look at the 7 day chart, you'll also see that Hanyu's "worldwide" relevance ebbs and flows pretty much in sync with when most people are awake and asleep in Japan. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc Obviously, all search terms will have a pattern, but it's actually rather astonishing how drastically up and down, but still so uniform/similarly patterned, the spikes are from day to day/hour to hour with Hanyu's search relevance. You would almost think that the same group of people search him, in full force, around the same time each day, on a practically religiously consistent basis. To quote British Eurosport, "Such is the dedication of the Japanese fans!"

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now 7-d&q=/m/05b51vc, This shows how his search popularity compares in Japan vs. the rest of the world. Note the index in the Interest By Region: Japan is 100 on relevance (which is a baseline of most popular), and the next one is Hong Kong at just 17 (as in the term "Yuzuru Hanyu" is almost 6 times less popular compared to Japan). That's a pretty huge discrepancy from most popular region to 2nd most popular region, and any Google analyst will tell you that means Japan is doing quite a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of the search term's relevance. Taiwan is 3rd at 10, Singapore 4th at 6, South Korea 5th at 4 (i.e. he was 25x less popular in South Korea compared to Japan, in the past year). And primarily Asian countries rounding out the first half of the list; it's ironic you would quip that NA is not representative of the world (we know that it isn't), but then Hanyu's worldwide popularity comprises primarily Asian countries (which, of course, are not representative of the entire world either). On top of that, there are only 2 non-Asian countries in the top 10, Canada (8th) and Russia (9th), and with relevance indexes of just 2 at that (as in "Yuzuru Hanyu" has 50x less search popularity in Canada and Russia compared to Japan).

Rippon, on the other hand, in the past 12 months, has had a much greater diversity of search popularity: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/02wc4tf . The top 5 countries that search his name are USA, Canada, Singapore, Finland and Japan, and the discrepancy between the US and other countries is not as drastic versus the discrepancy between Japan and the rest for searching Hanyu. "Adam Rippon" has 33 regions represented (to Hanyu's 20) in the past year. Hanyu has for surebeen searched more, when you compare them head to head, but Rippon's popularity has been spread around the world comparatively moreso, and it's not all coming from one region as it's been with Hanyu.

Gotta love Google Trends.

Not a yuzuru fan but one problem with the Google analysis is that he has a huge fan base in china while google is blocked there.

 

[Interspectator]

Not a yuzuru fan but one problem with the Google analysis is that he has a huge fan base in china while google is blocked there.

It's true, Yuzu is sometimes ranked as the most popular athlete in China! :shocked: A rare phenomenon considering political tensions between the countries.

 

[sun110]

Not a yuzuru fan but one problem with the Google analysis is that he has a huge fan base in china while google is blocked there.

That's true. The pooh rains in 2014 coc and 2015 wc are the most impressive ever( even more insane than the ones in homeland Japan). That was 3,4 years ago. He's even much more popular in China now. Many students even wrote his story as essay for school tests. Teachers also used him as a positive figure to encourage students to work hard. His 'efforts may lie, but won't be in vein' is super popular among college students. Even CCTV and other government controlled newspapers & SNS accounts love him.

 

[bladesofwar]

It's true, Yuzu is sometimes ranked as the most popular athlete in China! :shocked: A rare phenomenon considering political tensions between the countries.

Omg...where is the source for this? I cannot believe it [emoji43][emoji43][emoji43]

 

[Interspectator]

Omg...where is the source for this? I cannot believe it [emoji43][emoji43][emoji43]

I just saw some screenshots from Weibo, where he was ranked first in trending and some polls a few times since the Olympics. --But take that with a grain of salt, all these popularity meters and top 100 measures from any source have incomplete data, so sometimes he's on top, but it just shows his strong popularity in China, not a definitive statement that he's absolutely the favorite athlete there.

 

[Yoa]

That's true. The pooh rains in 2014 coc and 2015 wc are the most impressive ever( even more insane than the ones in homeland Japan). That was 3,4 years ago. He's even much more popular in China now. Many students even wrote his story as essay for school tests. Teachers also used him as a positive figure to encourage students to work hard. His 'efforts may lie, but won't be in vein' is super popular among college students. Even CCTV and other government controlled newspapers & SNS accounts love him.

Beijing University quoted this too: http://fx.weico.cc/share/17932592.html?weibo_id=4213259488238155 Also China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted video with Yuzu from NHK gala on their weibo once.

Weibo fanpage #1: over 500000 followers
Weibo fanpage #2: over 200000 followers

Omg...where is the source for this? I cannot believe it [emoji43][emoji43][emoji43]

Ranking of athletes (from April): https://twitter.com/misayuzuhkchina/status/989157436022972416 Yuzuru was first. I think he is second now.


People need to remember that Yuzuru isn't signed with any PR agency, he avoids media, doesn't have official sns account (Shoma at least has his own website) and often 'disappears' for a few weeks/months. You can imagine what would happen if he decided to promote himself more.

 

[bladesofwar]

Beijing University quoted this too: http://fx.weico.cc/share/17932592.html?weibo_id=4213259488238155 Also China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted video with Yuzu from NHK gala on their weibo once.

Weibo fanpage #1: over 500000 followers
Weibo fanpage #2: over 200000 followers



Ranking of athletes (from April): https://twitter.com/misayuzuhkchina/status/989157436022972416 Yuzuru was first. I think he is second now.


People need to remember that Yuzuru isn't signed with any PR agency, he avoids media, doesn't have official sns account (Shoma at least has his own website) and often 'disappears' for a few weeks/months. You can imagine what would happen if he decided to promote himself more.

Thanks for the info! But I am worried that if Hanyu goes to Beijing, the tickets will be sold out in minutes due to the sheer number of Chinese fans over there [emoji32][emoji32][emoji32]

 

[Ophelia]

This is off topic, but Sharapova is not known for her athletic achievements? Isn't that like saying Yuna Kim is not known for her athletic achievements? Although Sharapova may not be at her peak right now, she is still a legend in women's tennis. Although, I might have a slightly different perspective as a tennis player.

I thought Sharapova was more famous for her looks, doping scandal, and racist comments.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

i love that the one thing CanadianSkaterGuy can be consistent on is his ability to hijack threads :facepalm:

shoot i should post this in the other consistency thread actually

you guys im BEGGING you, he just wants to stir the pot by coming into this thread and turning it into, once again, a skater vs skater asinine discussion

For the record, I was not the one to bring up the comparison to other skaters, using Google Trends or otherwise. Others have compared skaters previously in this thread long before I even chimed in. And, on top of that, Yatagarasu (and others) posted Google Trends links that LITERALLY compare skater vs. skater! Like, actual metrics of Hanyu vs. Rippon vs. Chen, and yet you didn't criticize them for "turning it into a skater vs skater asinine discussion"?

I was responding to those deriding other skaters and saying the world doesn't care about DWTS/Adam - when Google Trends clearly showed DWTS was boosting Adam's worldwide popularity.

If you have an actual response to the content of my post please feel free to discuss, but don't come for me as if I was the one who brought up other skaters, or falsely claim I'm stirring the pot because I choose to treat this as an actual discussion, and the comments I'm saying (backed up by data, at that) are not what you want to hear. Other posters have made prior snide remarks about skaters and used Google analysis trying to trivialize them, and the moment someone provides a contrary opinion or analysis (using the exact same Google tool, no less!) then the pearls start getting clutched and the medicine is tasting a little bitter all of a sudden.

Friendly reminder that The Edge is intended to be a discussion section, not a fluff fest meant to prop up skaters -- while taking the opportunity to ridicule/criticize their opponents. I know posting multiple threads in The Edge gets more views and is more convenient than posting in a Fan Fest, but that also means you'd better be prepared for different opinions, including those you don't agree with. If posters don't want me and others to provide contrary commentary and ruin their fun, consider posting such things in the GS Fan Fest. Or take it somewhere that has a collective hive mind who only makes adulatory, uncritical, affirming comments (not that I'm aware of anywhere like that!). #Consistency

 

[plushyfan]

I thought Sharapova was more famous for her looks, doping scandal, and racist comments.

What???? Oh, noooo. She was/is a very good tennis player. And after that she is beautiful. She was very popular , famous before the "doping scandal". I didn't heard about her "racist comments"...I believe she didn't say anything..

 

[plushyfan]

Beijing University quoted this too: http://fx.weico.cc/share/17932592.html?weibo_id=4213259488238155 Also China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted video with Yuzu from NHK gala on their weibo once.

Weibo fanpage #1: over 500000 followers
Weibo fanpage #2: over 200000 followers



Ranking of athletes (from April): https://twitter.com/misayuzuhkchina/status/989157436022972416 Yuzuru was first. I think he is second now.


People need to remember that Yuzuru isn't signed with any PR agency, he avoids media, doesn't have official sns account (Shoma at least has his own website) and often 'disappears' for a few weeks/months. You can imagine what would happen if he decided to promote himself more.

So many figure skating fans!

 

[Danibellerika]

That's true. The pooh rains in 2014 coc and 2015 wc are the most impressive ever( even more insane than the ones in homeland Japan). That was 3,4 years ago. He's even much more popular in China now. Many students even wrote his story as essay for school tests. Teachers also used him as a positive figure to encourage students to work hard. His 'efforts may lie, but won't be in vein' is super popular among college students. Even CCTV and other government controlled newspapers & SNS accounts love him.

This 2017 CoR was pretty nuts too and a lot of Chinese fans traveled there since it's convenient.

 

[Danny T]

I thought Sharapova was more famous for her looks, doping scandal, and racist comments.

Oh yeah, the doping scandal made rounds in my part of the world too. I always have the impression she is quite good though, not the Williams level of GOAT, but still reputable. But then, I'm the very definition of a casual tennis watcher LOL, only ever watched when I'm flipping through channels. Maybe a tennis fan can enlighten us ~

 

[Ophelia]

What???? Oh, noooo. She was/is a very tennis player. And after that she is beautiful. She was very popular , famous before the "doping scandal". I didn't heard about her "racist comments"...I believe she didn't say anything..

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-sharapovas-vile-racially-tinged-treatment-of-serena-williams

http://www.laineygossip.com/maria-s...ms-in-excerpts-new-book-unstoppable/47844/amp

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Oh yeah, the doping scandal made rounds in my part of the world too. I always have the impression she is quite good though, not the Williams level of GOAT, but still reputable. But then, I'm the very definition of a casual tennis watcher LOL, only ever watched when I'm flipping through channels. Maybe a tennis fan can enlighten us ~

Maria Sharapova is the only Russian woman to have a career grand slam (as in, won all 4 Grand Slam titles at some point in her career), something only 10 women have ever done, and the only active one other than Serena Williams.

For a while (11 consecutive careers), she was the highest paid female athlete in the world. And definitely would have made a couple ESPN lists.